Garden of Dreams
by Be My Master
Summary: Arthur is having dreams with the wonderful Merlin. But what will happen when Merlin turns out to be real? What happens when he and another druid comes into Camelot? rated T for future chapters. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

*PoV Arthur*

I have long days as the prince of Camelot. I have to train, take care of the people, train, take care of the hounds, train, eat, train, look over boring documents, train, and train some more. Did I mention train? My father is always breathing down my throat and looking over my shoulder, and to be quite honest, it gets very annoying.

I'm to be married to Lady Guinevere from some far off place, and she is lovely, really, she is, but she's just not my type. She's… not him.

When I fall asleep, I go to a grove in the center of a forest, with trees that bare the oddest fruit. Ones that curl like spirals, square ones, ones of every colour and shape. In the garden, I met a wonderful young man, going by the name of Merlin, whose hair is as black as night, whose skin is paler than snow. His blue eyes occasionally glow yellow, and nature seems to bend to his will. Of course, they're just dreams, but I've fallen in love with this dream boy. I love spending the long nights with him, telling him about my problems, listening to his problems, eating the strange fruits. After many nights of speaking with him, I got a kiss. His lips were soft, so soft, and he felt right. His smile could make a man – well, at least me – weak at the knees.

I write down every dream that I have with him. Every night, these dreams happen, and he sometimes tells me what's going to happen the next day. This was my favourite:

I was sitting in the garden, waiting for him to come, when I heard a rustling in the three above me. I looked up, and there he was. His blue eyes were large, and he had a smile on his face.

"Hello, down there," he said.

"Hello, Merlin," I said. "What are you doing?"

"Escaping."

"From what?"

"Monkeys!" He leapt at me, his arms wrapping around my neck. We tumbled, laughing, to the ground.

"Why are you escaping from monkeys?"

"Because they want my fruit. It's my garden, they can't have any."

I nodded. We spent the night kissing and eating the fruit, talking and laughing.

It was horrible when I woke up to screaming.


	2. Chapter 2

*PoV Arthur*

It was horrible when I woke up to screaming.

It was a girl's voice, shrill and scared, like a lost child. It was coming from the square. I groggily got out of bed, and I felt Merlin slipping away.

Down in the square, a little girl was crumpled on the ground, surrounded by the guards, who were obviously frightening her. Next to her is a crumpled heap of cloth. She seemed to be trying to protect it. I noticed a hand out stretched from the heap, pale and delicate, lying in a growing pool of blood.

It takes me five minutes to get to the square. I reached the guards, yelling at them to back off. "Are you alright?" I asked the girl.

She screamed even louder. She shook the person next to her, sobbing. "Emrys! Emrys, wake up!"

"What's your name?" I asked.

"M-Morgana… Please don't hurt me."

"Don't worry, Morgana, I won't. Let's bring Emrys to Gaius, and see what we can do."

She nodded and stood as the guards picked up Emrys carefully. I walked along side them, watching him. I had a feeling Emrys was a he. His arm dangled by his side. My eyes opened as I saw the triscillian on his for arm, and I quickly pulled down the sleeve of his robe, covering it. We got to Gaius's chambers quickly, and soon healing him was under way. I had a strange feeling, like I knew him somehow. Morgana clutched Emrys's hand, mumbling to herself.

I inwardly gasped as Gaius pulled down Emrys's hood.

It was Merlin.


	3. Chapter 3

*PoV Arthur*

Morgana looked at me as I sat down.

Gaius went to get a supply out of his cupboard and she walked closer to me. "You saw the mark of the druids. Why didn't you have us arrested?"

"Because I believe you have done nothing wrong," I said.

"You've been to Merlin's grove."

I nodded. "Is it a real place? Am I just going insane?"

"You have a special spirit. Only the purest can enter, and that isn't many. Emrys is the guardian of the grove, protecting it from attackers that wish to steal its fruit. In return, he gets to live there, and he gets to eat its fruit. But it is in danger of being attacked by the-"

"-monkeys."

She gave a small smile. "Yes, that's what Emrys calls them. They are knights, with the insignia of a golden simian. We druids do not fight, and Emrys is scared that it will come down to that if the knights don't back off. They were given fruit from the grove as a peace offering many years ago, and the king must have run out. The fruit has a strange power over men; I'm surprised you do not wish to go after it."

"I know to take only what is given. Merlin lets me eat the fruit if I'm peaceful. The first time I met him I tried to take one, and he had me hanging by my toes from the branched of the tallest tree. He really takes his job seriously. I couldn't walk for the rest of the day since my feet hurt. I thought it was a coincidence, but I suppose not?"

"No. Emrys has the power to manipulate peoples' minds to feel pain when they have done wrong in the grove. He is quite serious about protecting it."

"Why?"

"When Emrys was young, his parents were killed in a great fire that the knights of Camelot set on the druid camp. He ran until his legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground. He felt like he was dying. His lungs were burning, he was weak and his heart was about to burst. He breathed in the scent of the Cara fruit, the blue spiral one, and he felt safe. He crawled to the base of the tree and fell asleep. When he awoke, the branches of the tree above him were moving, weaving themselves into walls. The roots sprang from the ground and connected with the branches, making a wonderful garden. The branches weaved down and bared their fruit at his feet.

"Soon, the knights realized that some of the druids had escaped from the fire, including Emrys, one of the most powerful littles. They got closer and closer to the grove, and Emrys got more and more frightened, fearing the knights would find him. But the grove protected him. It lowered its branches to him, waiting for him to climb on. He did, and the branch lifted him into the air, high above the knights' heads. They left the grove unharmed. They didn't even notice the strange fruits. The grove closed its gates to all whose spirits were un-pure; whose hearts have evil in them. Emrys could come and go as he pleased, but he never left. The grove is an immense place, and even Emrys himself hasn't explored the entire place. There was always a new place for Emrys to sleep, for Emrys to have fun, and to play when he was younger. The tree's respond to him, but they don't exactly bend to his will. They coincide with him, and they have a happy existence.

"The grove protected Emrys, gave him a home. And Emrys would give his life to protect that garden."


	4. Chapter 4

*PoV Arthur*

"So why did he leave?" I asked.

"To seek help. He alone cannot fight an entire army all alone. He needs your help. But your father would rather see us burned at the stake or swinging from the gallows pole than help druids." Morgana looked over at Merlin as he stirred. He looked at her, a smile on his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Thank you… Uhm…" he said.

"Morgana," she said. "You're welcome."

He looked over at me, and the smile reached his eyes. "I knew I would find you."

I smiled at him. "I knew you were real."

"I need your help. I-"

"I understand. I shall talk to my father. I'm sure he will understand if I explain the circumstance. And I will make sure that-"

"He knows you are helping a druid? Because that's going to work amazingly."

I sighed deeply and turned to Gaius, who'd come back into the room. He was holing a blue vial, which he passed to Morgana. "I'm glad to see you awake, Merlin."

"I knew I could count on you, Gaius," Merlin said, swinging his legs over the side of the table. "Please, you and Arthur must help me. I need you. Uther will see no gain in helping a protector. He hates us more than dragon lords! And what with a protector being a dragon lord and a druid, he will certainly have me hanging from the gallows by the rise of tomorrow's sun!"

"You're also a dragon lord? Wow," Morgana said. "You really don't have good luck here, do you?"

"What's a protector?" I asked.

"A protector is someone who guards, or protects, one of the magical gardens of this world. There used to be thousands, so many that the world was nearly filled to burst. But people like Uther and the other kings destroyed the gardens, filled with greed and loathing, that they themselves could not enter the gardens to feast on the fruit. The protectors can talk to each other, even if they are in different kingdoms. They can come into each other's gardens as well. I needed to find another," Merlin said, blushing and looking down at his feet.

"So, why do you need Camelot's help if you have more protectors?" I inquired.

"The others are not willing to help. It would mean leaving the gardens, our life line. The gardens are our lives, in the most literal scene of the meaning. If we leave for too long, the gardens start to die, as do we. We… as I said, we need those gardens. It's hard to become a protector, but some people are born to protect. When a protector is born, or created, so is a garden. It's hard to understand, I know. When we die, the gardens die. When they die, we die. I need to go back soon. We have to get Uther's help."

"How?" Gaius asked. "As you said, a Druid and a protector is not a good combination."

"Let me talk to him," I said. "You may come along, Merlin, if you choose. He will see you are just a boy, and hopefully show mercy."

"Arthur, you can't. He'll only shoot the idea down, and have Morgana and I executed. What good will that do?" Merlin furrowed his brow and looked down at the floor. It really did put us in a sticky situation.

"Merlin just let me talk to him." I moved forward and took his hand, lightly lifting his chin to make him look at me. "Please."

"Alright. But I will be with you."


	5. Chapter 5

*PoV Arthur*

I was making my way to the great hall when Merlin grabbed my hand and pulled me into a storage room. He was shaking and pale, his black hair contrasting greatly against his skin. His eyes were bright, his hand in mine trembling.

"How are you going to explain how you know me?" he asked. "Oh, hey, father, this is Merlin, a protector, a dragon lord, and a druid that I met in my dreams. We need to help him protect this magical garden from one of your best friends." Merlin put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, that's going to work."

"I'll say that I met you in the market place," I said. "Come on, let's go."

Merlin sighed, but followed me.

As we got to the Great Hall, I could tell that there was a council taking place. Even better, Gaius will be there, so he will try to have father see sense. I opened the door and walked in, standing at the end of the table, Merlin not far behind me. He bowed deeply and stood with his head down. Uther looked from me to Merlin and back again, an eye brow raised.

"How can I help, Arthur?" he asked, standing up.

"This is Merlin, he is-"

"Merlin? What kind of name is Merlin?"

I glared at my father. "Really? Anyway. This is Merlin, he…"

"Doesn't look like much," Father said, smiling. "Arthur, please don't waste my time with this. I really don't have the time."

Merlin moved in front of me, his skin very pale. "Please, my lord, I need your help. There-"

"I will not be addressed by a peasant!" Father roared.

"I am no peasant!" Merlin roared back.

Father looked shocked. No one had ever spoken to him that way. He raised an eye brow at Merlin, who shook from head to toe. "I am Merlin, Protector of the Enclave garden."

"A… protector?" Father muttered.

"That's right," Merlin said. "And I need your help protecting my garden. There is a rival kingdom of yours coming to attack my garden, and I cannot fight him on my own. My garden is on the border of your kingdom and his. Please."

"Guards," father said quietly.

"You cruel, cold hearted husk of a man," Merlin said with pity in his voice. "I can see why you don't allow my kind. You have no hope of keeping us down." His pity turned to rage. "But know this, we will never be contained."

"Merlin!" I reached for him as the guards clasped his wrists. "No, father!"

Merlin turned to look at me, his eyes afraid. Beneath the fright, I could see pain, budding like a late spring flower. It bloomed and spread and flared, his eyes turning a deep burgundy colour. He dropped to his knees, moaning in pain. I kneeled down beside him, placing my hands on his shoulders. He looked up at me, the painful colour fading back to the blue.

"Merlin," I whispered. "What's wrong?"

"I've been gone for too long…" Merlin murmured.

Father walked over to us. Is eyes were gleaming with an emotion I couldn't decipher. "I shall help you, guardian. I shall accompany soldiers and Arthur to your garden, and we shall defend it against the invaders."

A sense of relief flooded me, but Merlin, for some reason, looked even more scared than before.


	6. Chapter 6

**PoV Arthur**

We were getting ready to leave when Merlin collapsed again. I caught him, and he smiled weakly, mumbled thanks and sat on the steps in his swishing robes. Gaius came out into the court yard to give him a little blue vial. Merlin smiled up at him, and hugged the old man as if they knew each other. My father noticed it, too, since the first thing he asked when we were on our way was, "How come you know Gaius?"

"He helped me escape Camelot with my parents when we were captured," Merlin said matter-of-factly. "I would be dead without him."

Merlin was leading our army to the garden, and it was one of the strangest sights I'd ever seen. I caught up with him and smiled cockily, but he didn't smile back. His eyes had the deep burgundy colour to them again, and it wasn't going away. He looked like he wasn't really there, his eyes far away.

"Merlin," I whispered.

His head snapped up and he smiled at me, and then took a sip from the little blue vial. His face scrunched up like it tasted revolting, but the burgundy colour left his eyes. My father caught up with us, glaring his hello.

"Arthur, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I was just checking to make sure Merlin was okay," I said.

"How do you know each other?" he asked.

"We met in the market, and he… he…" I said.

"Arthur has dreams where his spirit travels to my garden, and we talk and have fun," Merlin said, again, matter-of-factly. "You don't need to lie, Arthur."

"Have fun?" Father asked, and eye brow raised.

"We run around a lot," Merlin said. "And we eat the fruit."

"I see," Uther said. "And tell me, Merlin, why are you taking my son to your garden?"

"Because I needed his help," Merlin said, blushing slightly. "I had to find another."

"Another what?" I asked.

He mumbled his reply, but he said no more.

We made it to the border just as the sun was setting. I could tell we were close to the garden, because Merlin began to sit up stronger.

"How long is too long to be away from your garden?" one of my knights, Sir Percival, asked.

"Half a day," Merlin said. "I'm really amazed that I survived this long."

When we all went to sleep, I felt Merlin curl up right by my side. He kept far enough away to look like he was sleeping on his own, but close enough so that I could feel his body heat. When I slept, I had a nightmare.

I was standing in Merlin's garden, but it was shriveled and dying. Merlin wasn't there. All the fruit had been picked and some of it had been thrown to the ground by angry hands. My fathers' laughter filtered through the leaves. I ran to where it was coming from, and I saw him, pointing his blade at Merlin's throat.

I tried to scream out but I couldn't, and I saw the rest of my knights hauling great baskets full of the fruit onto their horses.

I woke up with a start. Merlin was pressed up against me, his eyes glowing in the dark.

"Did you have the same nightmare?" he whispered.

I nodded.

"We can't trust Uthur."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** **The name, "Mielikki", is from Finnish mythology.**

PoV Arthur

It was early when everyone else woke up, and Uther said that we needed to get going. Sometime during the night, Merlin had fallen asleep again, though I had stayed awake. The knights walked around us while I tried to wake him.

"Merlin, come on, wake up," I said, shaking his shoulder vigorously.

He moaned, his eyes opening slowly, showing the burgundy colour again. "Hand me the little blue vial."

I did as ordered and waited for him to sit. He eventually did, getting slowly to his feet. "I should not have been away for so long," he muttered.

We set off on the last half of the journey, Merlin ridding alongside me. His skin was even paler than yesterday, his eyes ringed with red. We stopped for a midmorning meal, and Merlin nearly fell from his horse. It was killing me to see him in suck agony, and not being able to help. We set off again, and by midday, I could see the garden in the distance. It seemed to call to me, its foliage beckoning me forward. I longed to sit in its shade, to eat its fruit. I kept my eyes trained on Uther, though.

When we finally got to the garden, Merlin did fall from his horse, but only because he was trying to get to his grove too fast. I chuckled and helped him up. He smiled, and vibrated like an excited puppy. He walked quickly to the edge of the tall gate of trees and shrubs. I had never seen it from the outside, and it took me a while to really appreciate the beauty of it.

As I took a step closer, vines shot forward and towards me. They stopped inches from my face, their razor sharp leaves glistening in the sun. Merlin was stroking one of the leaves, speaking in soothing tones, in that language I didn't know. The leaves, I don't know how to put it, but it was like they were a person. They turned my face this way and that, then stroked my cheek, the razor edge turned soft.

The vines quickly turned from me and went for the knights.

"No!" I yelled, but Merlin grabbed my arm.

"He will decide if they can enter," he whispered.

"He?"

"Mielikki, the spirit of this garden, of this nature." He spoke in hushed tones, and I realized that what Merlin had said was true. There was more than just nature here; there was spirit, and life with it. I could hear him breathing; hear his heart beat in the rustle of the leaves.

"What's taking so long?" I asked. The first knight was taking longer than I did.

"He knows you. He knows that he can trust you," Merlin said. "And he likes you."

"I'm honoured." And I really was.

The first knight took ten minutes, the second twice as long. The knights I knew to be my friends, Percival, Gwain, Elyan, Leon, Mordred, and Lancelot, took almost no time. I smiled as they made their way over, but Merlin pulled me aside.

"I don't trust that one," he said, pointing.

"Who?" I couldn't follow his finger, he was shaking terribly.

"The young, black haired one."

"Mordred?"

"Yes, Mordred. I can see him in the future, doing something terrible."

"Doing what?"

"I don't know, I just know it's terrible."

I was about to say something when one of the knights screamed. The vines had decided he wasn't worthy to enter.

The formed an arrow like shape, and plunged into his solar plexus. It opened a hole in his chest, ripping apart his skin. It dove in and out along his skin, tearing holes the size of copper pieces. They plunged inside of him again, and his innards started to fall out, after being ripped to shreds. The vines pushed their way up his throat, cutting off his screams of agony, and found their way out of his stomach, nose, ears, and eyes.

I felt Merlin burry his face in my cloak. I wrapped my arms around him, looking on in horror.

The vines ripped the man to shreds, pulling and tearing him apart. Then, dripping in blood, they moved on to the next man.

It all happened in two minutes.


	8. Chapter 8

**PoV Arthur**

I stood in silence as the knights were looked over. Three more where killed, each time more brutal than the last. Merlin was shaking, his hands clenched into my cape. I had my arms around him, waiting for the nightmare to end. When it did, my father charged up to Merlin. The leaves had cut his cheek, and a small trickle of blood ran down his face.

"You're garden killed four of my best knights!" he roared.

"I didn't know it would!" Merlin screamed back. "I'm sorry!"

"Father, if you shout at Merlin you will be killed!" I yelled.

The statement quieted my father. We could hear the leaves of the garden rustling, like in a storm. But there was not even a lick of moving air. The garden walls were moving, readying themselves for an attack.

"Please, let's just get inside and wait for the other army to arrive," Merlin pleaded. "We can protect it from inside."

"I'm not going anywhere near that monstrosity!" Uther yelled.

"Please!" Merlin begged, drooping down to his knees. He fell forward, resting his head just in front of my father's boots. "I need your help! I need your help…"

Uther was silent for a moment, looking down at Merlin with a look of confusion on his face. He shuffled his feet, and looked up at the walls of trees and shrubs.

"If I don't, then the garden will die," he said. "If I do, then I will be going to war with an enemy who I already wanted to kill. I… What will we get from helping you?"

Merlin looked up at him. "My eternal gratitude," he said.

"Your gratitude? Is that it?"

"That's all I can give you. I have nothing else."

"You have a whole garden of things to choose from," Uther sneered. "Pick one."

"I cannot." Merlin stood up, brushing dirt from his robes. "If all you have is greed, then there is nothing I can give to satisfy your hunger."

"What about free passage, and protection if we need it?" Mordred asked. "If we are being pursued, we will need a place to hide, and if it's the only way through to the other side, then… could we?"

Merlin looked at the black haired boy. "I will let you through, and I will hide you. But only if you can pass the test of the leaves."

"A promise of protection is not enough," Uther said, turning to his troops. "What if he finds someone else to protect him? Then what? We will be in danger of his army. If he has others to help, then we are in danger." He turned to Merlin. "No, what I want you to do when we're done protecting you, is…"

The silence of the forest was split when we heard the distant drumming.

"They're coming!" Merlin shrieked. He coughed once and pulled a face. "I normally don't shriek, sorry. What do you want, Uther?"

"I want you to cut it down."


	9. Chapter 9

**PoV Arthur**

"No," Merlin said. "I will not."

"You will, or I won't help you," Uther said.

"I'll give you anything else! All the fruit in the garden, some of the wood, the leaves, anything! If you cut it down, you'll kill me!"

"Exactly."

There was another stunned silence.

"Then leave, Uther Pendragon," Merlin said. "I will not cut down this garden, and I will not let you enter."

Uther sighed, drew his sword, and dug it through Merlin's chest.

"No!" I yelled, hurling myself at Uther.

The garden rang out in pain. Shrieks, unlike any human noise, filled the air with their clamour, blocking out any other sound. The screams entered my head, filling me up. I could feel them in my head, pushing at the inside of my skull, trying to break me open. I dropped to my knees with my hands over my ears. I looked to see if my men were alright and…

…they were all looking at me. They couldn't hear the screams; they couldn't hear the garden dying. It was too much noise in my head, I could feel myself dying.

"My lord?" Percival asked, kneeling down in front of me.

"Can't you hear them?" I whispered. "The trees, they're screaming. The plants, they're all dying."

"My lord, your ears are bleeding!" Mordred shouted. I moved my hands away from my head, and my palms were indeed covered in blood.

"We need to get him out of here!" Uther yelled.

"No!" I yelled back. "We need to protect the garden!"

The screaming stopped. I looked at the wall of withered leaves, of bare branched. What was left of the vines stretched out and wrapped themselves around Merlin's body, his skin a deathly pale. He had stopped bleeding, the ground soaked with his dark crimson life. They dragged him closer to me, resting his head on my lap.

"Fiiixxxxxx….. himmmmm….." was whispered out among the leaves. My men looked around in shock.

"Did the forest just… speak?" Gwain asked.

"Yes," I mumbled. "How? How am I to fix him?"

"_We need to protect the garden!"_ My voice rang out across the clearing.

"Arthur." It was Merlin's voice. I looked down at his still body. He didn't speak, but I heard it in my head. "The only reason I could talk to you, the only reason that I could call you to the garden is because you are a warrior. A foraoise laoch. You are the only one who can protect us."

"Merlin, how can I help you?" I whispered, touching my forehead to him.

"Repeat what I say, and I will channel my magic through you. Só leigheas tapa."

"Só leigheas tapa," I whispered, feeling something pulse through my veins.

Merlin, the one in my arms, gasped, his hands flying out to grab onto my arm. "You did it!" he laughed. "You saved me!"

"Well… yeah…"

"Arthur, they're almost here!"

**Só leigheas tapa, means "Heal quick," in Irish.**

**Foraoise laoch, means "Forest warrior," also in Irish.**


End file.
